Leinster fearful secret weapon could be blunted vs Northampton Saints by choice of referee for Champions Cup semi
LEINSTER fear the impact of secret weapon Rabah Slimani could be curbed by the ref in charge of this week's Champions Cup semi.
Pierre Brousset is the man in the middle for
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Assistant coach Robin McBryde acknowledged Rabah Slimani got on the wrong side of Brousset earlier this season
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The 35-year-old is a wealth of knowledge to younger members of the pack
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Brousset is a seasoned veteran himself
Credit: Sportsfile
And 35-year-old Slimani has fallen foul of the French official at scrum time in two recent matches — against Bristol in December and Harlequins last month.
Leinster forwards coach Robin McBryde explained: 'We had a conversation after the Bristol game because it wasn't a great advert for rugby and for scrums in particular.
'We had a good conversation after that one against Quins as well.
'Rabah's fallen foul of some of his decisions and in all of the other games during the year Rabah's proved a good weapon for us from a scrummaging point of view.
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'So we just need to make sure we're seeing the same pictures as Pierre is seeing with regards to that.'
McBryde also revealed he has been delighted with how Frenchman Slimani, South Africa's RG Snyman — who is fit again after training — and All Black Jordie Barrett are helping Leinster's younger players.
He said: 'All three of them bring that level of experience with them, that level of composure.
'That's why they're here, it's to bring on the players that they're playing alongside.
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'I would call it short-term thinking in terms of why they're here instead of an Irish-qualified player.
"But we've seen the benefit that the youngsters get from being alongside them, playing with them and training with them, just bouncing ideas off each other.
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'I'm not saying that untruthfully or anything, I'm being 100 per cent genuine.
"A lot of these players will be better for having the experience of playing alongside them, the IP that they've got, all of these players.
'There's no better feedback than instant feedback.
'If you're a young prop scrummaging against Rabah, you get things wrong, and Rabah is able to tell you what you got wrong. He shares that information.
'Or if you play alongside him as a hooker.'
BAIRD BLOW
Ryan Baird is among those who might benefit from Snyman's experience but McBryde reckons the main thing the Dubliner needs is game-time.
McBryde said: 'It's hard when you don't get to play regular rugby. That's the next step for Ryan I would feel. He hasn't been lucky with injuries recently.
'It would be great from his point of view to get a run of games to see how he can push on and fulfil all that potential.
'You have to fulfill it and you have to stay fit in order to do it. Either that, or if you're not getting the rub of the green off the coach you've got to go somewhere else. It's as simple as that.
'It's all well and good dipping in and out but sometimes you just need that consistency of week-in, week-out, working with the same group of players either side of you, just to build those relationships.
'He called lineouts last week but it's only the second time this season I think he's done that.'
EPCR organisers made some €45 tickets available over the weekend in a bid to boost sales, which have been sluggish.
For last year's semi-final, they worked with Leinster on pricing but the competition's organisers are going it alone this time around.
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